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Astronomy Lab Report

Astronomy Lab Report


The mass of the planet Jupiter is calculated using the measured values and Newton's modification of Kepler's third law.

The objective of this work is to stimulate actual measurements of the period and semi-major axis of at least one moon of the planet Jupiter. The mass of Jupiter is calculated using these values and Kepler’s third law. In the lab we created observations made by Galileo in the 1600’s except and we used a computer to observe the moons of Jupiter (and not telescope). The program showed four moons of Jupiter; Lo, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. We plotted the position of the moons with respect to the Jupiter. As the Galilean moons were found to be orbiting Jupiter because of the gravitational force, Kepler's third law is applied to it.

M total = a3/P2

a is the distance between the orbits
P is the time taken by the object to orbit once around the other.

Thus we measured the average distance of the moons from Jupiter and the orbiting time and therefore the mass of Jupiter. The moons position was observed for twenty consecutive days for twenty observations and the data was analyzed. We found out two properties of moon through the experiment; how long it takes to orbit once around Jupiter and how far it is from Jupiter. We measured these values and we used Kepler's third law to measure the mass of Jupiter.

We determined, the period of each moon, in units of years, the semi-major axis of each moon, in units of AU and we made use of the modified version of Kepler's third law to determine the mass of Jupiter, as found out through the period and semi-axis of each moon. We also analyzed and found out the answers of all possible questions related to Jupiter and its moons. We summarized our findings. Our findings included the discussion of Newton's modification of Kepler's third law, the quantities involved, and the way they relate to each other. We also analyzed how we can use this formula to determine the mass of objects.

Posted by: SANDBERG FAITH SMITH

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